Historical Segment: AIDS Legend

When a close friend was questioned concerning his repeated refusals to join the PTFC, it became overwhelmingly evident that he actually fears going to the theatre. He maintains that his fear is related to potential of an encounter with an AIDS infected needle. Although this concern may seem an anomoly, it actually recalls popular legend/vernacular related concerns that erupted in the late 90’s.

In consideration, it seems appropriate to explore the foundations of this legend. In the text, “Once Upon a Virus: AIDS Legends and Vernacular Risk Perception,” Diane Goldstein posits that the legend erupted in relationship to a mass e-mail sent out in 1999. According to Goldstein, North American police departments and the Center for Disease Control reported a “wave of public reaction to the narrative” (Goldstein 140). Essentially, the narrative suggests that villainous people are planting AIDS infected needles in random seats at various theatres. Unlike other popular AIDS related legends, the villain is generally anonymous. The following is a provocative excerpt from Goldstein’s text.

“In this chapter, I propose a counterreading of the needle narrative, a reading that suggests that the anonymous AIDS infector might be preferable to the one we know and that public danger is far more desirable than danger in our homes. On some level, I believe, needle-prick narratives can be read as a form of resistance–resistance to the modern construction of our homes as locations of risk and resistance to public health constructions of our loved ones as vectors of danger” (140)

Interestingly, Goldstein continues to demonstrate, throughout the chapter, the numerous ways in which the narrative reasserts the security of home. Unlike other popular legends, the needle narrative suggests that the domestic area is a realm of safety. It accomplishes this by casting the public sphere as a realm of increasing danger. Not only does this narrative reflect a binary of domestic and public, control and otherwise, it also reflects the ways in which the theatre can potentially function as something other than as a form of entertainment. With needle narratives, the theatre provides an opportunity for a person to regain control over the domestic realm. This is entirely prescient considering the increasingly convoluted nature of the domestic and public realms.

Paramount Anti-trust

In the contemporary Detroit Theatre scene, a plethora of independent film venues experience substantial success. A list of noted brevity: Royal Oak Main Art Theatre, Birmingham Eight, the Palladium, Planet Ant Film Theatre, the Maple Art Theatre, the DFC, etc. Interestingly, these theatres often participate in a binary; a binary which suggests that mainstream films and independent/foreign films belong at opposite ends of a misconceived scale. Some will even argue that quality is derived from the independent nature of a film. It seems appropriate to quote directly, and controversially, from the DFC’s website advertisement: “It’s definitely a great place to check out when mainstream movies are just not enough.” Despite the frustration which comments of this nature elicit, it is interesting to consider the evolution of independent film theatres, and the opportunities which these theatres present to independent film producers.

Some will recall the Paramount anti-trust cases of the 1940s, but few understand the dramatic theatre transformation that occurred subsequently in Detroit. In the late 1940s the United Detroit movie houses were amongst the highest-revenue theatres in the region. In partnership with Cooperative Theatres, Paramount controlled nearly ninety percent of the revenue within the Detroit area. According to various studies, the Detroit monopoly often denied independent film producers percentage engagement deals. Instead, Paramount offered these producers a flat deal which, in effect, denied them the same monetary advantages that others experienced. Paramount eventually lost the case and was forced to pay over $8.7 million in damages to independent film producers. Since then, the Detroit independent scene has experienced a dramatic rebirth in the form of theatres and governmental agencies which promote successful forums for independent producers.